In third place was Sweden, followed by Iceland and Britain, emphasising European dominance in the connectivity stakes, according to the International Telecommunication Union, a leading analyst for information and communication technologies, or ICTs.

Hong Kong led Asia, in ninth place in the world rankings, and the United States came 14th. The Central African Republic was last, part of a long list of African countries bringing up the tail of the list.

The International Telecommunications Union's ICT development index takes into account Internet and mobile phone access and use, and the population's competence with the technology.

"Over three billion people are now online and information and communication technology growth remains buoyant in just about every country worldwide," the report said.

Developing countries are well behind, but catching up, with Internet usage in 2014 growing 8.7 percent, compared to 3.3 percent in the richer nations.

However, of the 4.3 billion people still unconnected, 90 percent of them are in developing countries, the study found.

That should change, according to the organisers. "ICTs have the potential to make the world a much better place -- in particular for those who are the poorest and the most disenfranchised, including women, youth, and those with disabilities," said the Telecommunications Union secretary general, Hamadoun Toure.